In an effort to attract Indian-American voters, a Republican party group in Houston, TX released a campaign ad with an image of Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu deity. The image, which was published in the India Herald newspaper and was sponsored by the Fort Bend County Republican Party, played on the animal symbols for the Democratic and Republican parties. The caption that accompanied the image read: “Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours.”
The ad was published on Sept. 12, a day before the start of Ganesh Chaturthi, a 10-day Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Ganesha. The advertisement caused the South Asian American community to have a split reaction over the offensive political ad. There was much backlash from Hindu-Americans who said the ad was inappropriate.
“While we appreciate the Fort Bend County GOP’s attempt to reach out to Hindus on an important Hindu festival, its ad — equating Hindus’ veneration of the Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party based on its animal symbol — is problematic and offensive,” said Rishi Bhutada, a board member with the Hindu American Foundation.
Since the negative reception of the published ad, the Fort Bend Republicans have offered their “sincerest apologies.” The county’s Republican Party chairman, Jacey Jetton, says the party’s main objective was to celebrate and acknowledge the Hindu holiday.
“The ad was not meant to disparage Hindu customs or traditions in any way,” said Jetton. “This ad was created with input from those of Hindu faith so that we could properly pay respect to the sacred festival. This highlights the difficulty in outreach that can be positive for one group but not for another in the same community.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
